Application of EREP, LANDSAT, and aircraft image data to environmental problems related to coal mining

Remote sensing techniques were used to study coal mining sites within the Eastern Interior Coal Basin (Indiana, Illinois, and western Kentucky), the Appalachian Coal Basin (Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania) and the anthracite coal basins of northeastern Pennsylvania. Remote sensor data evaluated during these studies were acquired by LANDSAT, Skylab and both high and low altitude aircraft. Airborne sensors included multispectral scanners, multiband cameras and standard mapping cameras loaded with panchromatic, color and color infrared films. The research conducted in these areas is a useful prerequisite to the development of an operational monitoring system that can be peridically employed to supply state and federal regulatory agencies with supportive data. Further research, however, must be undertaken to systematically examine those mining processes and features that can be monitored cost effectively using remote sensors and for determining what combination of sensors and ground sampling processes provide the optimum combination for an operational system.